RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born 398 AD in a herd of nomads, Fejjer was captured by slave traders and sold to a zombie hunting legion in sub-Saharan Africa where he met a dimension hopping drug dealer with carnal knowledge of his estranged sister, Takuka.
Born 2010 AD in Alalia, Kael is the silver-spoon heir of a techno-aristocratic family with deep Roman and Punic roots. Restless within his luxurious cybernetic world, he sought adventure beyond his privileged life. During a voyage across the Tyrrhenian Sea with his love, Sienna Elara, a sudden whirlpool transported them to an alternate Roman realm dominated by sentient apes. Stripped of status, Kael must navigate a society where humans are subjugated, forging uneasy alliances with sympathetic apes and confronting the authoritarian simian rulers. His wit and resilience are tested as he strives to survive, challenge the oppressive ape hierarchy, and find a way back home.
Born in 168 BC in Patara, Ulix and his sister Anteia were recalcitrant grave robbers who discovered an interdimensional portal in the Harpy Tomb and were transported to an atomic age parallel universe where they were captured and forced to fight as gladiators.
Born 498 AD in Gamla Uppsala, Tola’s travels saw her migrate south to Dacia where she served the Gepid kings as a vampire hunter.
Born in 349 AD in Ephesus, Dag lived his life plundering cities and towns across Asia, so it was only natural that he continue his reign of terror after falling through a crevasse and portaling to a distant future alternate dimension.
Born 178 AD in Skara Brae, Fergus is a landed equestrian from a tranquil island paradise. He sprang into action upon learning of Severus and Caracalla’s invasion of Caledonia. Utilizing his extensive network of merchants, spies, and dimension hoppers, Fergus tainted a rack of lamb with a lethal COVID-XIX variant acquired from the Han Empire. This dish was served to Emperor Severus, leading to his premature death and the subsequent halt of the invasion.
Born 69 BC in Rome, Alfredus is a retired legionnaire, early interdimensional traveler and friend of Emperor Augustus who risked sharing knowledge of the future to guarantee the success of his leader and vanquishing of their enemies. He lived a long life of anonymity to ensure his prescient wisdom was kept secret.
Born 160 AD in Caralis, Lola lived a charmed life of revelry until the purges of Commodus caused her to escape through an interdimensional portal to the 22nd century AD. Now holed up in the Neo-Aztec Collective, she unabashedly continues her epicurean indulgences in the vaporwave splendor of Floridia.
Born 555 BC in Babylon, Saba is the granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar II and a Haitian dimension hopping raver from the 25th century AD who founded Elektrosar, an interdimensional electronica festival held in the Hanging Gardens. Saba travels through space and time to recruit new performers and audiences for the galaxy’s greatest EDM festival.
Born 202 AD in Leptis Magna, Reema is believed to be an illegitimate daughter of Emperor Severus, raised by legionnaires and priests. As a rebellious teenager, she fled dimensions seeking peace, only to discover incessant armed conflict wherever she landed.
Born 83 BC in Rome, Marco was once a celebrated general and senator, renowned for his cunning and valor. His life took a fateful turn in Tarsus, where an interdimensional portal whisked him into an alternate universe, strikingly similar to his own. Yet, the transition bore an unforeseen glitch, rendering him completely invisible. Embracing his new form, Marco now clandestinely aids his counterpart, wielding his unseen presence as a tool to spy on foes and secure treasures, all while navigating the challenges of a world where he is forever unseen, but profoundly felt.
Born 1720 BC in Babylon, Sarpana, granddaughter of the legendary Hammurabi, is a celebrated dimension-hopping performance artist. Regularly featured at Elektrosar, an interdimensional electronica festival in the Hanging Gardens, and at Club LIV in a post-cyberpunk 1970s AD Rome, Sarpana merges EDM, disco, funk and pole dancing to stun audiences through space and time.
Born in 113 BC in Philippopolis, Seuthes fought with Spartacus in the Third Servile War, lost and was crucified by the Romans. His dying body was abducted off the cross by aliens, who forced him to fight as a cybergladiator for eternity.
Born in 275 BC in Cyrene, Sisa became an expert fighter thanks to an advanced holographic training simulator from the 28th century AD left by her estranged father. Sisa joined the army, helping Hamilcar defeat the Romans in Sicily where she escaped through an interdimensional portal on Mount Eryx to seek out her father.
Born 2159 AD in Luxor-Thebes, Tim is a battle-hardened mercenary centurion, veteran of the brutal Dacian Vampire Wars and direct descendant of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Now, he fights for the Nabataean Red Sands Syndicate, backing a cloned Hannibal Barca’s insurrection against Neo-Carthage’s corrupt governor and the cyborg Emperor Caligula. Leading a ragtag crew of gladiators and charioteers, Tim helps orchestrate the siege on Neo-Carthage, while Hannibal’s underground forces sow chaos within the city. Guided by profit, Tim’s loyalty is always to the highest bidder, making him a dangerous yet predictable player in the uprising.
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romanpunks@protonmail.ch
Registered in Ontario, Canada
